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Hearing Reveals PA Building ‘Facts on the Ground’

April 6, 2014

Mk Motti Yogev (Jewish Home), Chairman of the Subcommittee of Judea and Samaria in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, established in a special hearing on Sunday over illegal Palestinian Arab building in [Israel-controlled] Area C.

The hearing was convened following a similar meeting held last month, attended by representatives of the Defense Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice as well as the participation of mayors and representatives of Jewish communities in the region.

Just a few days before Sunday's hearing, the Civil Administration demolished two homes – one in Givat Tekuma in Yitzhar and another in Kfar Adumim. In Yitzhar, the Administration demolished a structure built by Jews on Jewish land; in the second, it flattened Bedouin structures erected on Jewish land.

When photo evidence of Arab illegal building surfaced in November, it was met with a conspicuous silence by the US and EU.

At first, the Palestinian Authority (PA) kept the buildings under black tarps, to prevent photos being taken and establishing proof of illegal building. Over time, these tarps have disappeared, revealing even more buildings in their wake. All of the buildings are in Area C, the area exclusively under Israeli control.

While Regavim, a watchdog group for Jewish national property rights, has asked the government several times to intervene, no action has yet been taken. The Civil Administration has reportedly posted signs forbidding the building — but that is all.

Now, in light of the PA's bid for international legitimacy at the UN and torpedoing peace talks, Yogev sharply criticized PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas for establishing facts on the ground.

"Mahmoud Abbas establishes facts on the ground against the law, with or without negotiations," he fired. "He does derides Israel, and all agreements signed with us forever, in the first place – how can we call him 'a partner for peace'?"